Kevin Lee is going back to his origins.
The Detroit-born Lee (19-8) will make his MMA return Sept. 28 at Lights Out Championship 17 at Hype Athletics Wayne in Wayne, Mich., promotion officials told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. The event streams on Spectation Sports, which also confirmed the bout to MMA Junkie.
This fight will be the first for Lee in Michigan since 2013.
Lee, 32, will take on Thiago Oliveira (17-12-1) in a three-round welterweight bout. It will mark his first competition since a July 2023 loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov. The appearance was Lee’s UFC comeback, and he retired after the fight, although he later changed his mind.
It was also recently announced by Lee that he has signed with Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA for a bareknuckle MMA fight Nov. 15 in Biloxi, Miss. An opponent has not yet been announced.
Lee competed 19 times for the UFC from 2014 to 2024. He compiled an 11-8 promotional record and competed for an interim lightweight title in a pay-per-view headliner at UFC 216 in October 2017.
Oliveira, 40, has competed all over the world during his 15-year professional MMA career. The bout will mark his third pro bout in 2024, a year in which he is currently 1-0-1.
